Quantitative imaging by confocal scanning fluorescence microscopy of protein crystallization via liquid–liquid phase separation

Metastable states such as liquid-liquid phase separation, aggregation and gelation can affect protein crystallization but their positive or negative effects are only partially understood. In this work, mixtures of PEG (MW 10 kDa) and a large model protein, glucose isomerase (MW 173 kDa), have been studied to characterize the effect of a metastable liquid-liquid phase separation on protein crystallization. Fluorescence labeling allowed confocal...